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Hades
Hades, often referred to as the King of the Underworld or the Silent One, is the Olympian God of the Dead. He is the ruler of the realm of Erebos, where the souls of worshipers of the Olympian Pantheon travel after death. Biography Early Life Hades was the first son and fourth child born to Kronos, the King of the Titans, and his Queen, Rhea. Shortly after his birth, he was brought before his father, like his elder sisters before him. Rhea had hoped that the birth of a son would cause Kronos to spare the boy his sister's fate, but alas, Kronos, driven by paranoia, could not find any mercy in him. Hades, like his elder sisters, was swallowed by his father. Shortly thereafter, he was joined by his younger brother Poseidon and a large, baby shaped boulder. He grew up with his siblings within Kronos's stomach, and was eventually freed by Zeus, his youngest brother, when he fed Kronos an emetic which forced him to disgorge Hades and his siblings. The young gods then fled to Zeus's home of Crete, whilst the Titans were in disarray. There, he was reunited with his mother Rhea, before he and his siblings decided to go to war with their father for his crimes. The Titanomachy After Hades and all his siblings barring Hestia elected to go to war with Kronos, Hades participated in the preliminary attacks launched against his father's forces. However, despite their considerable power, Hades and his siblings were raw, inexperienced fighters, and they were handily beaten and forced to retreat. Realizing they could not defeat Kronos and his forces by themselves, Hades, along with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, as well as his sisters, Hera and Demeter, ventured into the Pit of Tartarus. There, they battled through hordes of monsters, until they managed to free their uncles, the Elder Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires from their prisons. In their gratitude for his assistance in freeing them, Hades was gifted the Helm of Darkness, a warhelm which allowed him to vanish from the sight of even divine beings, and radiate intense waves of fear. Shortly thereafter, Hades and his siblings took Mount Olympus, the second highest mountain in Greece, as their fortress. The newly dubbed Olympians then launched an attack against Mount Othrys, with Zeus blasting the fortress and the top of the mountain to rubble with his Master Bolt, while the Hekatonkheires rained down boulders on them from above. However, due to the powers of Kronos, the Titans were able to take the time they needed to recover somewhat, and thusly, the battle was far more even then expected. Hades used his Helm to decimate the minions that had come to the Titan's aid, but had the misfortune of coming across his cousin, Atlas during the battle. Atlas knocked the Helm from his head, and they engaged in a fearsome duel, which eventually saw Hades victorious. After defeating Atlas, Hades and Poseidon engaged in a joint duel against the twins Hyperion and Iapetus, which they eventually won. Hades then dragged his defeated foes before Zeus, and bore witness to Zeus casting the Titans who had fought against them into Tartarus. Rule of Erebos After defeating the Titans, Hades and his brothers drew lots to divide rulership of the world. Hades received the domains under the earth, and shortly thereafter, he descended to his new kingdom. Whilst travelling the vast underground caverns beneath the world, Hades began to hear hushed whispers, and the sound of rushing water. He discovered a dimensional rift, through which flowed the Styx, the River of Hate. Hades, using his magical power, walked down and across the river, through the rift, and into a dark, gloomy realm filled with despondent souls. Horrified at their misery, Hades began to ask them what they were doing here, one of the souls revealed that a Titan by the name of Thanatos had been sending them here, on orders from Kronos. Apparently, he had found ghosts floating about to be irritating, so he had commanded Thanatos to dispose of them. He had been taking them as far as the river, the Styx, whereupon the soul would need to swim across, which usually resulted in the soul being burned away. During the conversation, Hades was suddenly set upon by three winged creatures armed with flaming whips. Using the power of his Helm, Hades effortlessly cowed them into submission, and learned that they were the Furies, charged with keeping the spirits from leaving. Apparently, they were completely unaware that Kronos had been cast down. Hades decided that the current situation was unacceptable, and thusly, he laid in ambush for the Titan Thanatos by the river. When he arrived, Hades surprised and subdued him, threatening to cast him into Tartarus for serving Kronos and mistreating the souls by making them swim the river. However, he was taken by surprise when Thanatos changed his form, and revealed that he was not a Titan, but rather a being similar to Hades and his siblings. Having heard of the fate of Hades and his siblings, Thanatos had apparently thought it best to masquerade as a Titan when leaving the realm of his mother, Nyx. Hades's anger had been diverted, and he decreed that since this place was now within his domain, Thanatos would serve him, and that they would immediately begin bettering the existence of these souls. Hades began by hiring a ferryman by the name of Charon, who would ensure that the souls did not have to endure the waters of the Styx. Later on, Hades also discovered an entrance to Tartarus, which he ensured was heavily fortified with help from his uncles, the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires. Noticing that their had been no discrimination in the way the souls had been sorted for this afterlife, Hades decided to implement a new system. He then spent the next few years dividing Erebos into three subrealms; Asphodel, Elysium, and the Fields of Punishment, the last of which was located within Tartarus itself. Asphodel, a grey, somewhat drear place, would be home to those that had lived an average life, accomplishing no great deeds, good or ill. Elysium would be for those who had lived lives of nobility and honor, a beautiful, idyllic land of peace and harmony. The Fields of Punishment would be for the truly wicked, a place for the evildoers of the world to suffer eternal torment. While constructing these places, . Once the constructions were complete, Hades set up a court system, where judges would evaluate newly arriving souls, and assign them to one of the various sections of Erebos, which is what the realm was being called. Hades then procured a magical, three headed hound by the name of Cerberus, which would be used to protect the entrance to the realm. It was only after all this was complete, the order and prosperity of his domain assured, that Hades constructed for himself his own palace, a great fortress of black and bronze. He also crafted for himself a new symbol of his rule, the Staff of Hades, or the Black Bident. Physical Appearance Hades typically chooses to appear as a tall, leanly muscled man with pale skin, and flowing black hair. Personality While Hades is more than clever enough to be duplicitous and manipulative, he is incredibly honorable and just, and prefers to deal with people in a fair and straightforward manner. He is known to be polite, courteous and respectful to all who visit him, though he often broods when his beloved wife is not present. Hades admires those who demonstrate honor, courage, and compassion, and despises liars and manipulators. Powers Hades possesses the standard powers of an Olympian, but far outclasses most of his fellows in terms of power. He is among the strongest of his kind, rivaled only by his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon. Olympian Physiology: Due to his Olympian heritage, Hades possesses a number of magical abilities. * Shapeshifting: As an Olympian, Hades is able to manipulate his essence to transform into any shape he desires. * Super Strength: Hades is gifted with godly levels of physical might. He is among the most powerful of all the Olympian gods, with only his brothers, Hades and Zeus, being able to challenge him. * Super Speed: Hades has vast degrees of superhuman speed. * Super Durability: Hades has the ability to withstand nearly any physical attack without sustaining any harm. * Healing Factor: If Hades is somehow damaged, he is able to recover from non magical damage in seconds. * Super Senses: Hades possesses divinely powerful senses. * Immense Magical Power: Hades, as a higher being, possesses an enormous reserve of magical energy that he can draw on for casting spells which surpasses that of any mortal. Some examples include: ** Telekinesis (Advanced): Hades has the ability to mentally exert force on objects, able to move and manipulate them with his mind. ** Telepathy: Hades has the ability of mental communication, and is able to read thoughts, as well as scan and alter memories. ** Teleportation: Hades is able to move from place to place without traversing the distance in between. He is able to easily traverse between realms unless his progress is impeded by a sufficiently powerful magical barrier. * Divine Domains: Due to his status as a deity, Hades holds innate magical control over certain aspects of existence. ** Ferrokinesis: As the God of Riches and the Underworld (which is located beneath the earth) Hades possesses divine control over metals. Metal can be made to bend itself to his will, forming any shape he so desires. ** Geokinesis: Due to his status as God of the Underworld (a domain located beneath the earth), Hades possesses power over the earth itself. Causing earthquakes and shaping stone are easily within his purview. ** Necromancy: As God of the Dead, Hades possesses control over spirits and corpses, being able to raise the dead to do his bidding, restore them to life (so long as their soul is within his domain), and to command and influence dead beings. He is also able to perceive and interact physically with ghosts, though this is as much due to his status as a god, rather than God of the Dead. *** Osteokinesis: Hades is possessed of control over bones, being able to animate skeletons with ease. *** Soul Manipulation: Hades is able to manipulate souls, being able to remove them from someone's body, sense various conditions afflicted them, and most importantly for his duties as judge, to read the soul of an individual in order to discern their true nature. ** Umbrakinesis: As God of the Underworld (a realm cloaked in darkness and shadow) Hades is possessed of divine power over shadow in all its forms. He is able to craft constructs out of darkness, and in addition to his godly powers of teleportation, to use his own unique ability to step through any shadow and appear in another one. Furthermore, in conjunction with his godly shapeshifting ability, transform himself into shadow. Skills Expert Combatant: Law Expertise: Stealth: Notable Equipment Helm of Darkness: Black Bident: Trivia